Paleo Diet Feedback Needed

Have you used the Paleo Diet? What were your results? Notice a difference in energy, libido and overall feeling of well being? Any concerns or things I should look out for?

I'm considering starting the Paleo Diet in a month or so in conjunction with a sound fitness plan to lose some weight ; bulking up is not the main goal, as I've already got a decent amount of muscle. I know each diet is different for each person, but I wanted to get some feedback from users before I made a decision.

I've been told with what I've been doing for the past 5 months is similar to the Paleo-diet.
Strictly no grains, complex carbs, starches, or anything made with sugar (ketchup, BBQ-sauce, sodas, etc).
The only carbs I allow myself are fruits (fructose), vegetables, and milk. I still get 200+ protein grams per day, and an amount of fat from cheese, milk, and nuts (almonds, peanuts).

Each of the first three months I dropped 5lb off of 198; my muscle-mass appeared to have stayed the same - but I did loose a bit of strength, falling back to [email protected] on flat-bench. Currently I'm 6'3" ~180lb @ ~5% bodyfat. For about 2-3 weeks my energy was quite low, so I had to force myself to do anything until I normalized again.
As for Libido? LOL Never better! I have no problem tossing a fit-140lb around like a rag-doll

I began on this with a once-a-day meal of any volume of carbs I could consume in an hour... sugar, breads, cereal, anything. The idea was that the insulin reaction would be more prounounced, and more throughly consume the carbs vs dipping in 3-4x per day for a small amount. I missed a couple days because I couldn't decide on what meal to have my carbs, so I stayed off all carbs through now.
I have a few more things I need to learn (still need to figure out the best time of the day for my carb-meal), and more info about how grains cause inflamation and GI iritation... Once I've learnt what I need to know, I plan to go back on carbs once a day, and at the right time (possibly ~5pm with the peak reaction occuring ~5hrs later while in the middle of my work-out because insulin allows for increased glycogen synthesis by muscles.) Still gotta learn a few more things....

So if we say it takes an average person 40 minutes of exercise to burn through their glycogen stores before they start burning fat... then it may take a low carber 15-20 minutes of exercise before they start burning fat (actual time varies greatly).

The problem is... well if you've ever "hit the wall" during a long cardio session you'll be familiar with the feeling of having low glycogen stores. It's a rather unpleasant feeling where you feel noticeably weaker and have reduced stamina.

You do get used to the sensation after a couple of weeks though, but if you intend to build muscle mass or increase your strength low carb diets are a definite no-no.

TLDR
Yes you'll see a drop in energy/stamina/libodo. But only in the gym

Everything he said still holds true. Don't go on a strict paleo diet if you're trying to get stronger, do go on it if you want to lose weight. If you want to do something in between, (lose fat, maintain strength or maybe even slightly increase it) then eat some grains, but only eat them right before you go to the gym. Stick to fruits & veggies the rest of the time.

I've been eating Paleo for the past 3 years or so (though I do have a sandwich here and there -- and beer on Tuesdays). And though I haven't been exercising nearly to the point of where I was when I was a Trainer (stopped last year due to gym going under), I'm still able to maintain great muscle definition, relatively low body fat %, and feel great.

As a whole, I couldn't really comment on energy levels. When I started eating this way, I was fresh out of college where I swam competitively - going straight into Personal Training. I was eating and exercising like a champ. So really my energy levels really never came into question.

Really, one of my favorite things about it is my overall satiation (feeling full effect). That works perfectly for Fasting Intermittently.

I feel if you can eat Paleo (or close to it), get minor exercise a few times a week, and get proper sleep - you'll look and feel like a champ for years to come.

EDIT: My only issue with it comes down to meal prep, and how time consuming it can be.

My Expierence with low/slow Carb Diet and "vague" Paleo. Low/slow Carb helps to lose weigth fast especially with Strength Training. You`ll have more energy. Paleo has the same benefits am weigth loss can stagnat because there are some tasty high caloric food where you just have to eat to much even on low carb (paleo marzzipan, paleo nutella yum, grindet meat with feta, garlic und onions yum yum).

I don`t feel more energetic then with the slow/low carb diet, except when i eat alot of fat 60-80gr day but getting good fat is hard (no platn base, bio fat because of the antibiotic etc. which sits in the fat). Also i can`t afford bio, even for eggs, so thats why vague paleo. But there is one remarkable thing, i never ever good fast a day in my past life, so much hunger.....but with this diet, i have not eaten for 36 and was only hungry twice for a short amount of time.

While i get hungry sometimes during a day, it goes away and i don`t have to eat, when nothing is aviable, thats amazing for me. Try it, try it for at least 30 days without grain/lentils/beans and maybe without cow milk. ANd look how you feel. Good Luck and Have fun!

Everything he said still holds true. Don't go on a strict paleo diet if you're trying to get stronger, do go on it if you want to lose weight. If you want to do something in between, (lose fat, maintain strength or maybe even slightly increase it) then eat some grains, but only eat them right before you go to the gym. Stick to fruits & veggies the rest of the time.

Like I said in my OP, strength is not a concern for me at this point in time, losing weight is strictly the goal. If I coincidentally gain a little muscle mass, cool, but I'm definitely not going to be pumping iron for 6 hours a day.

Originally Posted by Radux

EDIT: My only issue with it comes down to meal prep, and how time consuming it can be.

How so? From what I've heard, you do a lot of the prep ahead of time, and the minimal amount of cooking it requires doesn't take much more time than it normally would to cook the items in a different diet.

Like I said in my OP, strength is not a concern for me at this point in time, losing weight is strictly the goal. If I coincidentally gain a little muscle mass, cool, but I'm definitely not going to be pumping iron for 6 hours a day.

How so? From what I've heard, you do a lot of the prep ahead of time, and the minimal amount of cooking it requires doesn't take much more time than it normally would to cook the items in a different diet.

I think the paleo diet is kinda meh. The premise behind it is kinda nonsense. The fact that we evolved around this diet does not mean that this diet is the best diet for us. It suggests that our bodies adapted to survive for a long enough period of time to procreate with this type of diet being available. At best, it suggests that our body is adapted for this type of diet in so far as it allows us to live for around 30 years. Evolution is about survival, not about optimization.

As far as weight loss is concerned, yeah it will work. Any diet will work. Any diet that makes you not eat packed snack foods, not drink soda, not eat grains, or not eat dairy products will tend to work because those types of foods are easy sources of calories. On the other hand, any diet where you completely control your surroundings and become mindful of your food intake will work.

From what I've heard, you do a lot of the prep ahead of time, and the minimal amount of cooking it requires doesn't take much more time than it normally would to cook the items in a different diet.

That's what I've experienced... I use a 12oz can of Albacore tuna for two dose of protein in-between meals (provides ~80-90g of protein/day) - which takes a total of 6 minutes, eating included.. Fixing a simple salad of lettuce, tomatoes, and maybe cucumber with deli meat (ham, tuna, chicken) and a bit of cheddar - takes 3-4 minutes to prepare. Buying store-brand pre-washed + diced lettuce makes that easier.
For dinner, I still grill burgers and broil steaks; the burgers take ~10 minutes; broiling a nice 2" New York Strip steak can take 15 with prep included (slightly longer, depending on how long it takes the oven+skillet to reach temperature.) Throw some more vegetables together, and you're set!

Everyone has their own techniques, and I might cut a few corners here and there (occasionally buying pre-cut, packaged lettuce, etc). Next to that, I might prepare a couple days' worth of grub at a time, and box it up in tupperware.

That source is the worst source you can provide, no matter what diet now, or other commercial idea/product.
If you really trust right away the very source that makes money of it, then you really need to think again.

And discarding what the other guy summed up with a few words... Sorry, but he's right.
The best diet (unless you are ill and the overweight comes from the illness, but then you are subject to medical treatment and not some random diet) is proper exercise.
Sports, frequently. Getting the butt off the chair or couch, getting out and putting the body through activity, plus eating healthy (for which common sense is sufficient over some random diet guru) will eventually lead to weight normalization.

That source is the worst source you can provide, no matter what diet now, or other commercial idea/product.
If you really trust right away the very source that makes money of it, then you really need to think again.

And discarding what the other guy summed up with a few words... Sorry, but he's right.
The best diet (unless you are ill and the overweight comes from the illness, but then you are subject to medical treatment and not some random diet) is proper exercise.
Sports, frequently. Getting the butt off the chair or couch, getting out and putting the body through activity, plus eating healthy (for which common sense is sufficient over some random diet guru) will eventually lead to weight normalization.

Well "diet" is associated with fasting, hungering etc - but really a "diet" is what you eat. A cow's diet is grass. A Lion's diet is meat. Thing is, what people now eat "normally" is really abnormal and cause of overweight and all. "Eating healthy" is ofc also subject to recommendations that change in a society over decades. Healthy today is not what was considered healty 20 years agao, or 50 or 200 - nor do we have the monopoly of knowledge these days.

Cholesterol "knowledge" of the 90s is the ridicule of today. These days you would consider eating kiwis, dragonfruit, oranges and bananas daily as "healthy" - yet civilizations lived healthily for 100 000s of years without them. Entirely "healthy" civilisations like the Inuit evolved "western diseases" when they added grain (bread, pasta, sugar) to their "diet".

OT: The Paleo diet, like Atkins or 4 hrs body works. Shit like industrial sugar and obscene amounts of carbohydrates (as in crisps, tacos etc etc) should really not be part of our "diet" anyhow. Yet they make for tasty tasty food and are thus hard to drop.

---------- Post added 2012-12-11 at 05:56 PM ----------

Originally Posted by Wildtree

That source is the worst source you can provide, no matter what diet now, or other commercial idea/product.
If you really trust right away the very source that makes money of it, then you really need to think again.

And discarding what the other guy summed up with a few words... Sorry, but he's right.
The best diet (unless you are ill and the overweight comes from the illness, but then you are subject to medical treatment and not some random diet) is proper exercise.
Sports, frequently. Getting the butt off the chair or couch, getting out and putting the body through activity, plus eating healthy (for which common sense is sufficient over some random diet guru) will eventually lead to weight normalization.

I don't see how that site is commercial, you can follow a Paleo diet without buying any products they endorse.

Sure - sport helps. But it is not the "best" diet.

Is the huffingtonpost independent or has all the knowledge? Vitamin D3 for example comes in abundance from spending 10-20 mins outdoors. I wish that "common sense was sufficient over some health guru. People wouldn't eat that much shit and the industry wouldn't produce that much shit if we all had common sense. Selling "healty" dairy products because it has "only 0,1% fat" because fat is sooo scary and then sneak in 10 gramms of sugar per 100 grams. Only possible because there is a fat lack of common sense.

Eating habbits. The opinionated war about those will rage as hard as any political or religious debate.

"It’s not the job of the artist to give the audience what the audience wants. If the audience knew what they needed, then they wouldn’t be the audience. They would be the artists. It is the job of artists to give the audience what they need."

I don't see how that site is commercial, you can follow a Paleo diet without buying any products they endorse.

The site is pure commercial.
The entire website is advertising the idea, and then conveniently providing the store link.
That's how online business functions.

The content on the front page:
Rotating banner with marketing slogans..
Bold Option to the newsletter (most efficient advertisement tool for clients, highest upsale rate)
Promotion of free gifts (effective method to gain interest and subscribers)
Promotion of the Store (gotta rub that in the consumers face, repetition weakens resistance)

Some punch lines that indicate credibility. Whether that's paid for, or not, isn't relevant to the reader.
You can go and look at any other diet main website, and you will find it most similar. Even those who have been discarded as useless already.

Fact of the matter is..... you do NOT need any of the 5000 different diets invented for the sheer reason to make some profit.
You can consult with your doctor, and he will decide whether you do need a diet, and then he will direct you to a nutritional health specialist, who will tailor a diet for your individual needs. And that's how it's done for ever....
It's only in today's times that a new diet pops up every other day, with some phony promises by some self declared weight loss guru...
Reality is, there is not a single commercial diet on the market that has proven efficiency and is non profit. They are all what they are. commercial products.
You remain fat, and the only thing that gets slim is your wallet..
You need to change your lifestyle, and for that you don't need commercial diet, just common sense.
Common sense includes consulting ones doctor.

The site is pure commercial.
The entire website is advertising the idea, and then conveniently providing the store link.
That's how online business functions.

The content on the front page:
Rotating banner with marketing slogans..
Bold Option to the newsletter (most efficient advertisement tool for clients, highest upsale rate)
Promotion of free gifts (effective method to gain interest and subscribers)
Promotion of the Store (gotta rub that in the consumers face, repetition weakens resistance)

Some punch lines that indicate credibility. Whether that's paid for, or not, isn't relevant to the reader.
You can go and look at any other diet main website, and you will find it most similar. Even those who have been discarded as useless already.

Fact of the matter is..... you do NOT need any of the 5000 different diets invented for the sheer reason to make some profit.
You can consult with your doctor, and he will decide whether you do need a diet, and then he will direct you to a nutritional health specialist, who will tailor a diet for your individual needs. And that's how it's done for ever....
It's only in today's times that a new diet pops up every other day, with some phony promises by some self declared weight loss guru...
Reality is, there is not a single commercial diet on the market that has proven efficiency and is non profit. They are all what they are. commercial products.
You remain fat, and the only thing that gets slim is your wallet..
You need to change your lifestyle, and for that you don't need commercial diet, just common sense.
Common sense includes consulting ones doctor.

Someone asked for details about what the diet entails. I linked the website that provides those details. Not once did I say that I immediately and implicitly trust what that website says, otherwise why would I be here asking people for feedback and opinions?

And if you read my OP, you'd see that this is going to be done in conjunction with a fitness plan to maximize my results; a change in diet isn't enough to just magically make you lose weight, there's plenty of other things that need to be done.

Paleo isn't a 'diet' so much as it's a lifestyle, or at least that's how I'm looking at it. It makes way more sense than some super low fat or super low carb or super high carb/low fat/no fiber diet.

Someone asked for details about what the diet entails. I linked the website that provides those details. Not once did I say that I immediately and implicitly trust what that website says, otherwise why would I be here asking people for feedback and opinions?

And if you read my OP, you'd see that this is going to be done in conjunction with a fitness plan to maximize my results; a change in diet isn't enough to just magically make you lose weight, there's plenty of other things that need to be done.

Paleo isn't a 'diet' so much as it's a lifestyle, or at least that's how I'm looking at it. It makes way more sense than some super low fat or super low carb or super high carb/low fat/no fiber diet.

Uh... you do not need to exercise to lose weight. Actually, when I want to lose weight I tend to exercise less.